IRCC is on the right track to honoring the Express Entry commitment
Fraser said that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is on track to resume the normalization of Express Entry draws by the beginning of July. IRCC announced the plan in April and pledged to bring its Express Entry service standard back to six months once the draw for all programs resumes.
IRCC suspended Express Entry invitations to apply (ITA) to grant permanent residence for Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) applicants in December of 2020 in the outbreak. The same was true for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants in September 2021.
Recent developments with Express Entry developments
Before the outbreak, IRCC usually considered all applicants in their bi-weekly Express Entry draws. This meant that IRCC invited only those with the most scores in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores regardless of their eligibility programs.
IRCC briefly changed its approach during the outbreak. The delay in FSWP or FSTP is justified because it was a sense from a strategic perspective to prioritize immigrants from the economic class in Canada even though the country was subject to limitations on travel to international destinations. In the last few months, IRCC prioritized CEC candidates to help them reach their objective of landing 401,000 permanent residents before the end of 2021.
This, in conjunction with other developments, led to a substantial increase in applications within IRCC’s inventory. To bring the inventory in check and improve the quality of its Express Entry service standard, IRCC decided to suspend Express Entry invitations to CEC candidates from September 2021. In the meantime, invitations to Express Entry for Province Nominee Program (PNP) applicants have been in place throughout the pandemic because IRCC has sought to develop economic growth for provinces and territories across the nation.
How will the all-program draw have an impact on Express Entry candidates?
The return to all-program draw is a welcome change for FSWP, FSTP, and CEC candidates.
From its creation at the time of its inception in 1967 until the onset of the pandemic in the year 2000, from its inception until the outbreak, the FSWP was the most popular route for people of lower-income to arrive in Canada. Before the outbreak, it was responsible for about 45 percent of those eligible to apply for permanent residency through Express Entry.
The research conducted by World Education Services (WES), which is one of the Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) companies approved by IRCC, indicates that there is still a huge demand for FSWP applicants to proceed with the Canadian application for immigration, despite the controversy that has transpired regarding the pandemic.
The resumption of draws for CEC applicants will allow those who reside in Canada to retain their legal right to remain in the country. If you are an Express Entry candidate in Canada who obtains an ITA and submits a permanent residency application, you can apply for the Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP). The BOWP permits them to continue their legal standing in Canada as their permanent residence application is completed.
CEC candidates haven’t had the opportunity to participate in the BOWP due to the lack of ITAs from September 2021. In recognition of the issue, IRCC also announced in April that it was providing an extension of the work permit open to the primary cohort of CEC candidates starting this summer. This group includes those who have just seen or are set to have the expiration of their post-graduation work permit (PGWP) run out. There is no information regarding when IRCC will start accepting open applications for work permits for those with these qualifications.
What is the process behind Express Entry work?
The Express Entry system was launched in the year 2015. Express Entry is an application management system that manages The FSWP, FSTP, CEC, and a part of PNP.
The candidates who qualify can submit their profiles on The IRCC’s website. Then, they are awarded CRS scores based upon the human capital attributes of their profile like educational level, age, proficiency in languages, and working experiences. If the all-program draws resume is completed, IRCC is expected to invite applicants with the highest CRS score to be considered for permanent residency, as was the case before the outbreak.
In the future, IRCC proposes major changes to Express Entry that will provide an agency with ministerial Instructions and power to issue ITAs to specific groups that it believes are best positioned to meet Canada’s varied economic requirements.
Minister explained the reasoning for the proposal on the stage at Collision: “If we can project skills that are needed over the next 20 to 30 years, we can bring people who can hit the ground running and make a major economic impact.”
